Detroit Free Press Sports Writer

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The stats: 13-12, 3.36 ERA, 23 of 35 were quality starts (six innings or more, three earned runs or fewer).

The skinny: For the first time since 2008, when he led the American League in losses, Verlander didn’t finish at least nine games above .500. For one reason or another, he struggled most of the year to get into a consistent, dominant groove. But he was also a victim of poor support — five times, including his last three starts, he hasn’t allowed a run, and yet the Tigers lost. (No other pitcher this season was so unfortunate.) But the best news for the Tigers, short term and long term, is that Verlander (signed through 2019) appears to have fixed his mechanical issues and become his vintage self again.

The long ball: He allowed 19 homers in the regular season, the same as in 2012 and five fewer than his MVP season of 2011.

The running game: It is a problem. Runners have been successful on 21 of 25 stolen-base attempts with Verlander pitching.

Key matchups: A’s leadoff man Coco Crisp is 8-for-24 off Verlander in the regular season, and he led off Game 1 of last year’s series with a homer against Verlander. Crisp is Oakland’s top stolen-base threat, so it’s the old story: The best way for Verlander to keep him from running is to keep him off base. Verlander retired Crisp all three times he faced him when Verlander blanked the A’s during his seven innings in Game 2.

Say what? Verlander allowed 43 regular-season runs with two outs, a career-high. Since the outset of his rookie season in 2006, he has thrown almost 29,000 regular-season pitches —which is nearly 1,500 more than anyone else in that span. Perhaps all those pitches caught up to Verlander at times this season when he got deep into innings and couldn’t make a two-out pitch to get out of trouble.

Starting for the A’s: Sonny Gray

The stats: 5-3, 2.38 ERA, 7-for-11 in quality starts. He pitched four scoreless innings in two relief appearances.

The skinny: Gray, 23, made his debut in July and has been part of the Oakland rotation since mid-August. He didn’t reach the 100-pitch mark in any of his five September starts, then threw 111 pitches in Game 2 as he blanked the Tigers on four hits over eight innings.

The long ball: The rookie allowed four homers in 64 innings in the regular season. Two came in the first inning.

The running game: Baserunners were 1-for-2 in steal attempts against Gray in the regular season. The Tigers’ best opportunity against Gray in Game 2 — first and third, one out — ended abruptly when Jose Iglesias was thrown out stealing on the pitch on which Austin Jackson struck out.

Key matchups: Anyone who falls behind in the count. They are then vulnerable to Gray’s tremendous “12 to 6” curve — the one that drops straight down, as if going from 12 to 6 on a clock.

Say what? When Verlander beat the A’s in the decisive Game 5 of the division series last year, Gray was in the instructional league in Arizona. Gray’s ERA at home in the regular season was about half what it was on the road (1.99 to 3.86), so he got the call for Game 2 in Oakland before the series moved to Detroit for Games 3 and 4. Now he’s back in his comfortable home for Game 5.

Contact John Lowe: jlowe@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @freeptigers.